Carleton Harris (December 31, 1909 – December 21, 1980)Arkansas Courts
A Self-Guided Tour of Justice Building Portraits
(2016), p. 11. was a justice of the

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction ...

from 1957 to 1980. Born in Pine Bluff,

Jefferson County, Arkansas Jefferson County, Arkansas is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas in the area known as the Arkansas Delta that extends west of the Mississippi River. Jefferson County consists of five cities, two towns, and 20 townships. The c ...

, Harris received his law degree from

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

. He served three terms in the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the s ...

, from 1932 to 1938,Tom Dygard, "Three Judges in Race", ''Hope Star'' (July 28, 1956), p. 7. and served as a prosecuting attorney for several Arkansas counties. As a chancellor, Harris implemented a requirement that divorcing couples wait thirty days before moving forward with their permission, which reportedly reduced the number going through with the divorce, and which was later adopted as state law. Harris announced his consideration of a candidacy for Chief Justice of Arkansas in April 1956. He won the Democratic primary in August 1956,"Harris and 2 Jones' Win in the State", ''Hope Star'' (August 16, 1956), p. 22. effectively insuring his election to the seat, which he assumed the following January. He remained on the court until 1980, when he was diagnosed with cancer and retired to undergo surgery. Harris died later that year, at the age of 71.

References

External links

National Portrait Gallery page on Carleton Harris
1909 births 1980 deaths People from Pine Bluff, Arkansas Cumberland University alumni Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court {{US-state-judge-stub